Darren Carter last night lamented the lack of first-team opportunities at Birmingham City that forced him to leave the club he supported as a boy.

The 21-year-old spoke for the first time yesterday about his sadness at having to walk away from St Andrew's and exchange Birmingham's royal blue for the altogether darker shade of West Bromwich Albion.

The Baggies' blue-black stripe matched the midfielder's mood as he recounted how he was told by City manager Steve Bruce that he was not going to feature in his plans for next season.

Carter's £1.5 million move to The Hawthorns, finalised on Monday afternoon, ends his seven-year employment with Blues but he maintains it has not dimmed his affection for a club that not just he, but his whole family, follow.

But there comes a time in every man's life when difficult choices have to be made and the last few weeks of Carter's have been the hardest as he had to reconcile his loyalty to Birmingham with a desire to prove himself as a Premiership-quality footballer.

Ambition prevailed in the end but not before the affable Silhillian had grown tired of the competition for places in Bruce's squad.

"When we first got into the Premiership, it was a case of waiting for my chance, which was frustrating with not playing all the time," Carter said.

"Last year, I went away to get games and came back and had a run in the team which was good, but I think I never really had a chance - especially in the first two seasons in the Premiership."

The statistics certainly bear out his grievance. After breaking into the starting line-up shortly after Bruce's arrival in the 2001-02 season, Carter's decisive penalty in the play-off shoot-out took Blues to the Promised Land.

Perhaps he shouldn't have bothered; had they remained in the First Division, as it was all those years ago, he might have played a lot more.

Instead, he started just four top-flight matches in two seasons as Bruce understandably backed experienced players like Robbie Savage and Stephen Clemence to preserve their elite status.

That prompted Carter to go out on loan to Sunderland at the start of the most recent campaign where he made ten appearances and played a big part in helping the Wearsiders win promotion.

He returned to the Midlands just before Christmas and seemed to make the breakthrough when he performed creditably in the Birmingham derby and appeared in all but one of the next 11 games.

Sadly, his star waned once more and he started just five of the final dozen matches despite the fact that Blues had little to play for. The writing was on the wall as Bruce chased Mehdi Nafti and were linked with a host of other potential signings.

"At the time my confidence was high and I was playing in the team. It is frustrating, one minute you are playing and the next you are left out.

Up until that point, I felt I had been playing well and just wanted to keep playing," said Carter.

"I spoke over the summer with Steve Bruce and the feedback I got was that I was not going to feature. This move was all about furthering my career and coming to play football so in that respect it was not really a wrench.

"But being with the club for seven years, coming through the academy and supporting them obviously I have got ties there.

"The vibes I got back was that there were players in front of me and that I was not going to feature in their plans. You look at that, assess it and see what is best for you.

"That's football. For me to further my career, I had to go. It's sad to leave but something I had to do."

He hasn't waltzed into The Hawthorns thinking they owe him a sackful of games. Carter vowed to fight for his place and to continue working on the training pitch until his chance presents itself, sooner or later.

In that regard veiled assurances, if there are such things, from his new 'gaffer' - Bryan Robson - will be music to his ears.

"Darren knows that he has no divine right to get in the team whether I have offered £1.5 million for him or not," Robson said.

"We have got some good midfield players at the club but in every department you need competition for places."

And now comes the important bit. "But I always say to my players 'When you're playing well and the team are getting good results, then you stay in until you are playing badly'."

Robson believes that Carter - and the young players he has brought to Albion like him - are not just West Brom's short-term future but its' long-term too.

"Darren is a young lad but he has still got good experience from the time he has had at Birmingham. That is the type of player we want," he said.

"We need to build together, that is why I have taken players like [Richard] Chaplow and [Kieran] Richardson on. Hopefully they can progress together."

He could also understand why his old team-mate and close friend down the road in Small Heath felt unable to give homegrown talent its head.

"Once you get to a stage where you are finishing midtable, you look to where you need to make the next step to finish further up or in Europe," Robson explained.

"When you are going into that stage, you tend to look for proven players. That is the stage that Steve is at now where he is looking for a few experienced players to come in and help them challenge for a European place, rather than risk young lads."

Not that Robson is just interested in callow youth. He has brought in thirtysomething Steve Watson on a free transfer from Everton and also added Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.